Do You Know Any Godfathers?

“Do we know how to give good gifts? Are we able to give gifts that set others free? Or do our gifts invariably burden them with obligations?" Gilbert Meilander, professor of ethics, posed these questions in his reflections upon the art of personal gift-giving among friends and family members. We believe this trio of questions can also illumine problems in other forms of giving.

Consider, for instance, the following story told by the late James Hopewell. As a student of congregational cultures, Hopewell was studying a southern church he called “Corinth Baptist.” This small congregation had come to depend upon the largesse of one member called “the Godfather.” “Mr. Layce and persons subservient to him held everything together. He was so powerful . . . that projects were never finished by congregational effort. We would always look at him and he would say, ‘Well, I’ll do the rest of it.’” The congregation only came to life when newcomers finally wrestled the power away from “the Godfather.”

Other small-scale institutions – neighborhood organizations, voluntary agencies – face the same challenge. Do you know any “Godfathers”?